20 best shows like On Golden Pond (1981)

Subversive, darkly comedic drama Big Little Lies tells the tale of three mothers of first graders whose apparently perfect lives unravel to the point of murder.

A woman's daring sexual past collides with her married-with-kids present when the bad-boy ex she can't stop fantasizing about crashes back into her life.

A covert team of special forces operatives risk their lives on undercover missions around the globe, while their wives maintain the homefront, protecting their husbands' secrets.

Parenthood is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Katims. Loosely based on the 1989 film of the same title, Parenthood tells of the Braverman clan which consists of an older couple, their four children and their families.

Stef Foster, a dedicated police officer, and her partner Lena Adams, a school vice principal, have built a close-knit, loving family with Stef's biological son from a previous marriage, Brandon, and their adopted twins, Mariana and Jesus. Their lives are disrupted in unexpected ways when Lena meets Callie, a hardened teen with an abusive past who has spent her life in and out of foster homes. Lena and Stef welcome Callie and her brother, Jude, into their home thinking it's just for a few weeks, until a more permanent placement can be found. But life has something else in store for the Fosters.

A look at a seemingly placid New England town that is actually wrought with illicit affairs, crime and tragedy, all told through the lens of Olive, whose wicked wit and harsh demeanor mask a warm but troubled heart and staunch moral center. The story spans 25 years and focuses on Olive's relationships with her husband, Henry, the good-hearted and kindly town pharmacist; their son, Christopher, who resents his mother's approach to parenting; and other members of their community.

Based on the Pretty Little Liars series of young adult novels by Sara Shepard, the series follows the lives of four girls — Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily — whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their queen bee, Alison. One year later, they begin receiving messages from someone using the name "A" who threatens to expose their secrets — including long-hidden ones they thought only Alison knew.

After a teenage girl's perplexing suicide, a classmate receives a series of tapes that unravel the mystery of her tragic choice.

The Crains, a fractured family, confront haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.

Louis C.K. stars as a fictionalized version of himself; a comedian and newly divorced father raising his two daughters in New York City.

An aspiring actress is presented with an arrangement that would link her romantically to a big star in Hollywood, but sticking to the details of her contract may not be easy.

Set in present day Washington, D.C., House of Cards is the story of Frank Underwood, a ruthless and cunning politician, and his wife Claire who will stop at nothing to conquer everything. This wicked political drama penetrates the shadowy world of greed, sex and corruption in modern D.C. House of Cards is an adaptation of a previous BBC miniseries of the same name, which is based on the novel by Michael Dobbs.

A seasonal anthology series that tells startling, stranger-than-fiction true crime stories with the first season following Gypsy Blanchard, a girl trying to escape the toxic relationship she has with her overprotective mother.

A Silicon Valley pioneer discovers that one of his own creations – a powerful A.I. – might spell global catastrophe, and teams up with a cybercrime agent to fight a villain unlike anything we’ve ever seen – one whose greatest weapon against us is ourselves.

A grieving teen finds an unexpected connection with two classmates at her new high school after they all land in the same Shoplifters Anonymous group.

It's 1996 in a town called Boring, Oregon, where high school misfits in the AV and drama clubs brave the ups and downs of teenage emotions in the VHS era.

In this neo-noir thriller series, a pair of cash-strapped newlyweds accept a lucrative but morally dubious offer from a mysterious female benefactor.

When a rising high school football player from South Central L.A. is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High, the wins, losses and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds - Compton and Beverly Hills - begin to collide. Inspired by the life of pro football player Spencer Paysinger.

A provocative drama that explores modern marriage at its midpoint. Through the lens of one couple, Neil Truman and his wife, Grace, this series answers the question, “What do you do when having it all is not enough?” by delving into their shocking and unconventional choices.

Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park.

Six months after deciding to pull herself together and get sober, Bridget witnesses a murder. Realizing her life is in danger and not trusting the FBI to protect her, she runs to her wealthy twin sister, Siobhan, in New York. Things start out well -- with the two patching up a fractured relationship -- when Siobhan suddenly goes missing. Bridget assumes her sister's identity, but soon learns that Siobhan's life is not as perfect as it looks and she is no safer than she was before

In a world where everyone is striving for what is not worth having, no one is more determined to climb to the heights of English society than Becky Sharp.

Wealth, lust, and betrayal set in the backdrop of Regency era England, seen through the eyes of the powerful Bridgerton family.

Thirty-something Hazel Green tries to escape a suffocating marriage — until she realizes her tech billionaire husband has implanted a revolutionary tracking device, the Made for Love, in her brain.

Angsty and awkward fifteen year old Ginny Miller often feels more mature than her thirty year old mother, the irresistible and dynamic Georgia Miller. After years on the run, Georgia desperately wants to put down roots in picturesque New England and give her family something they've never had... a normal life. But it's not all carpool and Kombucha as Georgia's past threatens her and her family's new way of life... and Georgia will do anything to protect her family.

The Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is a wonderfully large and blended family. They give us an honest and often hilarious look into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted, embrace of the modern family.

An aging actor, who long ago enjoyed a brush with fame, makes his living as an acting coach.

A suburban mother faces her cancer diagnosis while trying to find humor and happiness as well.

Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, the story follows sisters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March on their journey from childhood to adulthood. With the help of their mother, Marmee, and while their father is away at war, the girls navigate what it means to be a young woman: from sibling rivalry and first love, to loss and marriage.

Married is a half hour comedy about being miserably in love. Russ and Lina Bowman can barely remember what life was like before kids, debt, and suburbia rained on their romance -- but every once in a while, in between the arguments about their declining sex life and who's driving carpool, they are reminded what drew them together in the first place -- they're best friends. The show also features Russ and Lina's friend AJ, who is recently divorced and pretending he's over his wife, and their other friend Jess, who is married to a much older man who can't keep up with her.

This semi-autobiographical dark comedy starring Tig Notaro follows her as she returns to her hometown after the sudden death of her mother. Still reeling from her own declining health problems, Tig struggles to find her footing with the loss of the one person in her life who understood her. All while dealing with her clingy girlfriend and her dysfunctional family.

Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, Ray Donovan does the dirty work for LA's top power players, and makes their problems disappear. His father's unexpected release from prison sets off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core.

A raw and honest comedic look at a single, 20-something from Southie whose desires for relationships, sex, and a career collide with the realities of young, single motherhood.

Three women living in three different decades: a housewife in the '60s, a socialite in the '80s and a lawyer in 2018, deal with infidelity in their marriages.

A young Victoria "Vic" McQueen discovers she has the power to unlock portals that help her find lost objects. As she delves further into this hidden universe, she encounters many other "inscape travelers" - some benevolent, and some who have been corrupted by their power. When Vic encounters Charlie Manx, an immortal who stays that way by feeding off of the souls of children, she makes a sworn enemy of Manx.

June and Oscar live a comfortable but very predictable wedded life when suddenly they find themselves in a completely unexpected situation, raising questions about love and marriage.

Lights Out is an American television boxing drama series from the FX network in the United States. It stars Holt McCallany as Patrick "Lights" Leary, a New Jersey native, and former heavyweight champion boxer who is considering a comeback. The series premiered on January 11, 2011 at 10 pm ET/PT. On March 24, 2011, FX announced the cancellation of the show. The final episode aired on April 5.

Explore the secret life of a woman we all grew up watching: the sitcom wife. The series looks to break television convention and ask what the world looks like through her eyes. Alternating between single-camera realism and multi-camera zaniness, the formats will inform one another as we imagine what happens when the sitcom wife escapes her confines, and takes the lead in her own life.

Having gone their separate ways since the original series ended 19 years ago, the cast of Beverly Hills, 90210 reunites when one of them suggests it’s time to get a reboot up and running. But getting it going might make for an even more delicious soap than the reboot itself.

John Adams is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling most of U.S. President John Adams' political life and his role in the founding of the United States. Paul Giamatti portrays John Adams. The miniseries was directed by Tom Hooper. Kirk Ellis wrote the screenplay based on the book John Adams by David McCullough. The biopic of John Adams and the story of the first fifty years of the United States was broadcast in seven parts by HBO between March 16 and April 20, 2008. John Adams received widespread critical acclaim, and many prestigious awards. The show won four Golden Globe awards and thirteen Emmy awards, which is more than any other miniseries in history.

Road to Avonlea is a television series which was first broadcast in Canada and the United States between 1990 and 1996. It was created by Kevin Sullivan and produced by Sullivan Films in association with CBC and the Disney Channel, with additional funding from Telefilm Canada.It was adapted from the following books by L.M. Montgomery: The Story Girl, The Golden Road, Chronicles of Avonlea and Further Chronicles of Avonlea.Some episodes of the show were turned into the independent books by different authors. There have been around 30 titles released.In the United States, its title was shortened to simply Avonlea, and a number of episodes were re-titled and re-ordered. When the series was released on VHS and DVD in the United States, the title changed from Road to Avonlea to Tales from Avonlea.The series is set in the fictional small town of Avonlea, Prince Edward Island, in the early 20th century. There, 10-year-old Montreal heiress Sara Stanley is sent by her wealthy father to live with her two maiden aunts, Hetty and Olivia King, to be near her late mother's side of the family. The show's focus shifted over the years from Sara's interactions with her new-found relatives, to stories about the King family. Later seasons of the show focused more on residents of Avonlea who were connected to the King family. Sarah Polley left the show in 1994, returning for one guest appearance in the 6th season and one in 7th season.

Michelle, a Las Vegas showgirl, impulsively marries a man, moves to his sleepy coastal town, and takes an uneasy role at her new mother-in-law's dance school.

Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama-mystery series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired Sundays at 9 P.M. Eastern/8 P.M. Central, on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012. Executive producer Cherry served as showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season included Bob Daily, George W. Perkins, John Pardee, Joey Murphy, David Grossman, and Larry Shaw. The main setting of the show was Wisteria Lane, a street in the fictional American town of 'Fairview' in the fictional 'Eagle State'. The show followed the lives of a group of women as seen through the eyes of a dead neighbor who committed suicide in the very first episode. The storyline covers thirteen years of the women's lives over eight seasons, set between the years 2004–2008, and later 2013–2017. They worked through domestic struggles and family life, while facing the secrets, crimes and mysteries hidden behind the doors of their — at the surface — beautiful and seemingly perfect suburban neighborhood. The show featured an ensemble cast, headed by Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer, Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo, Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp, and Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis. Brenda Strong narrated the show as the deceased Mary Alice Young, appearing sporadically in flashbacks or dream sequences.

Set in the early 1980s, and about a fictional visionary, an engineer and a prodigy whose innovations confronts the corporate behemoths of the time. Their personal and professional partnership will be challenged by greed and ego while charting the changing culture in Texas' Silicon Prairie.

After years of facing megalomaniacal supervillains, monsters wreaking havoc on Metropolis, and alien invaders intent on wiping out the human race, The Man of Steel aka Clark Kent and Lois Lane come face to face with one of their greatest challenges ever: dealing with all the stress, pressures and complexities that come with being working parents in today's society.

Mildred Pierce depicts an overprotective, self-sacrificing mother during the Great Depression who finds herself separated from her husband, opening a restaurant of her own and falling in love with a man, all the while trying to earn her spoiled, narcissistic daughter's love and respect.

Enlightened follows the story of Amy, a self-destructive executive, who, after a very public breakdown and a subsequent philosophical awakening in rehabilitation, tries to get her life back together.

Boss is an American political drama television serial created by Farhad Safinia. The series stars Kelsey Grammer as Tom Kane, the mayor of Chicago, who has recently been diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies, a degenerative neurological disorder.

The story of Bill Henrickson and his life in suburban Salt Lake City, balancing the needs of his three wives -- Barb, Nicki and Margene-- their seven kids, three new houses and the opening of his newest hardware store. When disturbing news arrives about Bill's father, he is forced to reconnect with his polygamist parents who live on a fundamentalist compound in rural Utah.

The multigenerational epic follows two concurrent time periods: One, the story of young Eli McCullough after he is kidnapped and indoctrinated into a tribe of Comanches in 1849. The other, 60 years later, when we see a grown Eli struggle to maintain his family’s cattle empire during the turbulent Bandit Wars of South Texas. Based on Philipp Meyer’s acclaimed novel.